MODO AVIÓN

Kobe to Mexico City flight path

UKB → MEXUKBMEX
The shortest path on the sphere. On a flat map it looks curved; on the globe it is a straight line.

Along the shortest route, the flight from Kobe to Mexico City covers 7,270 miles (11,710 km) — about 13 h 55 min with no wind. It passes over or close to Japan, the United States and Mexico. It crosses the Pacific Ocean: 69% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC+9 and land on UTC−6.

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From Kobe Airport (UKB) to Mexico City Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX) · UKB · MEX

UKBKobe
MEXMexico City
Great-circle distance
11,710 km
Duration, no wind
13 h 55 min
Over water
69 %
Time difference today
−15 h

The route drawn is the theoretical one — the shortest path on the sphere. The real aircraft follows airways, avoids storms and closed airspace, and rides the wind: it can be hundreds of kilometres off.

What countries do you fly over from Kobe to Mexico City?

  • Japan
  • United States
  • Mexico
  • Pacific Ocean

Which side of the plane to sit on to see Popocatépetl

To see Popocatépetl (5,420 m), sit on the left: it lies about 3 km from the route, ≈ 13 h 40 min into the flight.

Left window
  • Kyoto ≈ 19 min
  • Mount Tate (3,015 m) ≈ 35 min
  • Sendai ≈ 1 h 00 min
  • San Francisco ≈ 10 h 15 min
  • San Jose ≈ 10 h 15 min
  • San Gorgonio Mountain (3,505 m) ≈ 10 h 55 min
  • Popocatépetl (5,420 m) ≈ 13 h 40 min
Right window
  • Nagoya ≈ 25 min
  • Junipero Serra Peak (1,787 m) ≈ 10 h 25 min
  • Los Angeles ≈ 10 h 50 min
  • Mexicali ≈ 11 h 10 min
  • Hermosillo ≈ 11 h 50 min
  • Cerro Mohinora (3,348 m) ≈ 12 h 25 min
  • León de los Aldama ≈ 13 h 20 min
  • Santiago de Querétaro ≈ 13 h 30 min

Left and right facing forward, on the theoretical route. Times are from take-off, with no wind.

Leg by leg

2 h4 h6 h8 h10 h12 hUTC−7UTC−6UTC+9Pacific OceanJapanPacific Coast RangesPopocatépetl 5,420 m 3 kmSan Gorgonio Mountain 3,505 m 15 kmCerro Mohinora 3,348 m 50 kmJunipero Serra Peak 1,787 m 52 kmLos Angeles 69 kmSantiago de Querétaro 10 kmLeón de los Aldama 64 kmSan Jose 31 kmSan Francisco 44 kmUKBMEX▲ Left window▼ Right window◀ Left windowRight window ▶2 h4 h6 h8 h10 h12 hUTC−7UTC−6Pacific OceanJapanPacific Coast RangesSierra Madre OccidentalKyoto5 km off routeMount Tate3,015 m · 45 kmSendai32 km off routeSan Francisco44 km off routeSan Jose31 km off routeSan Gorgonio Mountain3,505 m · 15 kmPopocatépetl5,420 m · 3 kmNagoya44 km off routeJunipero Serra Peak1,787 m · 52 kmLos Angeles69 km off routeMexicali34 km off routeHermosillo60 km off routeCerro Mohinora3,348 m · 50 kmLeón de los Aldama64 km off routeSantiago de Querétaro10 km off routeUKBMEXUTC+9

LandWaterCity, with its distance from the routePeakClock change

See the full list, leg by leg
  1. Take-off from Kobe Airport
  2. Below: Japan0 km · ≈ 15 min into the flight
  3. Below: Honshu39 km · ≈ 18 min into the flight
  4. Kyoto, Japan — on the left, 5 km away65 km · ≈ 19 min into the flight
  5. Nagoya, Japan — on the right, 44 km away159 km · ≈ 25 min into the flight
  6. Mount Tate, 3,015 m — on the left, 45 km away305 km · ≈ 35 min into the flight
  7. Sendai, Japan — on the left, 32 km away645 km · ≈ 1 h 00 min into the flight
  8. Pacific Ocean — 8,040 km without land663 km · ≈ 1 h 00 min into the flight
  9. Local time below changes: UTC+9 to UTC−78,620 km · ≈ 10 h 10 min into the flight
  10. San Francisco, United States — on the left, 44 km away8,670 km · ≈ 10 h 15 min into the flight
  11. Below: Pacific Coast Ranges8,700 km · ≈ 10 h 15 min into the flight
  12. Land again8,700 km · ≈ 10 h 15 min into the flight
  13. San Jose, United States — on the left, 31 km away8,730 km · ≈ 10 h 15 min into the flight
  14. Junipero Serra Peak, 1,787 m — on the right, 52 km away8,840 km · ≈ 10 h 25 min into the flight
  15. Below: Central Valley8,980 km · ≈ 10 h 35 min into the flight
  16. Below: Sierra Nevada9,090 km · ≈ 10 h 40 min into the flight
  17. Below: Great Basin9,170 km · ≈ 10 h 45 min into the flight
  18. Los Angeles, United States — on the right, 69 km away9,210 km · ≈ 10 h 50 min into the flight
  19. San Gorgonio Mountain, 3,505 m — on the left, 15 km away9,310 km · ≈ 10 h 55 min into the flight
  20. Below: Sonoran Desert9,370 km · ≈ 11 h 00 min into the flight
  21. Mexicali, Mexico — on the right, 34 km away9,520 km · ≈ 11 h 10 min into the flight
  22. Hermosillo, Mexico — on the right, 60 km away10,100 km · ≈ 11 h 50 min into the flight
  23. Below: Sierra Madre Occidental10,150 km · ≈ 11 h 55 min into the flight
  24. Local time below changes: UTC−7 to UTC−610,300 km · ≈ 12 h 05 min into the flight
  25. Cerro Mohinora, 3,348 m — on the right, 50 km away10,610 km · ≈ 12 h 25 min into the flight
  26. Below: Mexican Plateau10,890 km · ≈ 12 h 45 min into the flight
  27. León de los Aldama, Mexico — on the right, 64 km away11,380 km · ≈ 13 h 20 min into the flight
  28. Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico — on the right, 10 km away11,520 km · ≈ 13 h 30 min into the flight
  29. Landing at Mexico City Benito Juárez International Airport11,710 km · ≈ 13 h 40 min into the flight
  30. Popocatépetl, 5,420 m — on the left, 3 km away11,710 km · ≈ 13 h 40 min into the flight

Times assume a typical jet speed, no wind and an on-time departure. Good for orientation, not for your watch.

Which side the sun, sunrise or sunset will be on

Enter the day and take-off time. Your phone does the maths: the sun's position on every leg of the route, relative to the nose of the aircraft.

Take-offLanding

Sky: light is daytime, amber is sunrise or sunset, dark is night. Left and Right show which side the sun is on for each leg.

Follow the route offline in airplane mode

All of this on board and with no signal: with your phone in airplane mode, Modo Avión shows where you are, what's below and how long is left. GPS still works, because it only listens to satellites.

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Arriving in Mexico City

Mexico City
Mexico City · Photo: Gobierno CDMX · CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Flight time and distance

About 13 h 55 min with no wind, including half an hour of taxi, climb and descent. On a long flight the wind aloft can change that by more than an hour, differently each way.

7,270 miles (11,710 km, 6,320 nautical miles) along the great circle. The real flight covers a little more because it follows airways.

Time zones you cross

kmTimeZone
0 kmUTC+9Tokyo
8,620 kmUTC−7Los Angeles
10,300 kmUTC−6Chihuahua

Airspace (FIRs) along the route

Each is a control region: when the aircraft crosses the boundary, the centre talking to the pilot changes. Boundaries are approximate, from the VATSIM data set, not the official ICAO chart.

  • Kobe
  • Fukuoka
  • Tokyo Oceanic
  • Anchorage
  • Oakland Oceanic
  • Oakland
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico

FAQ

Where does the plane fly from Kobe to Mexico City?

Along the shortest route, the flight from Kobe to Mexico City covers 7,270 miles (11,710 km) — about 13 h 55 min with no wind. It passes over or close to Japan, the United States and Mexico. It crosses the Pacific Ocean: 69% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC+9 and land on UTC−6.

What countries do you fly over from Kobe to Mexico City?

It passes over or close to Japan, the United States and Mexico, and crosses the Pacific Ocean. This is the theoretical route: the aircraft may deviate for wind or closed airspace.

How long is the flight from Kobe to Mexico City?

About 13 h 55 min with no wind, including half an hour of taxi, climb and descent. On a long flight the wind aloft can change that by more than an hour, differently each way.

How far is Kobe from Mexico City by plane?

7,270 miles (11,710 km, 6,320 nautical miles) along the great circle. The real flight covers a little more because it follows airways.

How much of the flight is over water?

69% of the route, about 8,040 km. The longest stretch without land is 8,040 km.

Why doesn't the plane fly in a straight line on the map?

It does fly straight — on a sphere. On a flat map the shortest path looks curved; on the globe on this page it looks like what it is.

Does GPS work in airplane mode?

Yes. GPS is a receiver: it listens to satellites and transmits nothing, so it keeps working in airplane mode. What you won't have is a map unless you downloaded it; Modo Avión carries its own.

More routes

The way back: Mexico City → Kobe

Look up another route

How this was calculated

The route is the great-circle arc between both airports, split into 300 points. At each point a point-in-polygon test runs against 1,102 airspace regions, 418 time zones and 1,338 physical geography regions. Countries are those with a town within 25 km of the route: in empty areas one may be missing. Cities named have over 250,000 people and lie within 110 km.

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